Local elections coming up

Soon it will be time to start planning for next year! LNEA needs energetic teachers with vision to volunteer their time and talents to make our organization and our district the best they can be. We will need officers, building representatives, representative assembly delegates, and people who are willing to help with various projects.

Please consider volunteering your time and expertise for one of the jobs described below. Contact us now or express interest when you receive your spring LNEA membership survey.

President-Elect. A president-elect works closely with the current co-presidents in order to take over for the next school year and should commit to several days of training over the summer. This position also requires active participation in at least three meetings per month and frequent communication by email and/or executive council meetings.

Recording Secretary. The recording secretary attends two meetings per month: executive council and building rep meetings, puts out reminders of the meetings, composes the agenda, and keeps minutes.

Treasurer. The treasurer prepares and administers a budget, writes reimbursement checks, and makes dues payments to KNEA on a monthly basis. The Treasurer also attends executive council and building rep meetings.

Membership Chairman and Assistants. This officer works closely with executive council (especially the treasurer), handles all membership paperwork required by KNEA, is responsible for getting membership forms sent to the state office, for maintaining accurate membership rolls, and for working closely with central office staff regarding payroll deduction. We will also need teachers to help with the fall membership drive by spending a morning or afternoon with teachers new to the district during one of their preservice days (right before the rest of the teachers start back to work), and to work at the LNEA table at the district benefits fair.

Negotiations Committee "Member in Training". The team is in need of middle school representatives, especially! Without them, the true balance of interests and concerns may not be present. Negotiators in training must commit to a series of bargaining training workshops during the summer and also to some weekends during the school year. Most workshops are held in Topeka, but may be in other locations that require overnight stays and more travel time (costs are reimbursed).

Building Representative. There should be one representative for each 25 members in a building. Building reps attend monthly LNEA meetings, disseminate information, answer questions from building faculty, and/or refer them on to teacher rights or Uniserv personnel. These are the folks who make sure LNEA leadership knows what issues you have in your building, so they can be communicated to district administration.

Delegate to the KNEA Representative Assembly. We are badly in need of delegates and alternates for 2011-12. Delegates attend one regional meeting in February (a weekday evening) and one weekend-long meeting in Topeka (April) to represent the Leavenworth teachers' association at KNEA. They vote to help direct KNEA policy, which drives lobbying efforts, etc. They also approve the KNEA budget and dues changes.